Changes    ep 2 Ashley's Cat
by Ashley's Cat
Summary: Fate has found a home for L.J the 'Cat' in the Sanctuary. So why was she not settled, change was on the wind... what would it bring?  **please review**  OFC.  Revised chapters added
1. Chapter 1

Changes. (Ashley's cat)

Okay so you know how my life in the Sanctuary began...

It's hard to believe how much my life has changed since fate delivered me here. I have a home and a purpose, so why am I not settled?

One...

My sleep had been broken, disturbed by visions from the past. I woke before sunrise and went to join the Big Guy outside.

It was not the large fancy garden you would think to find from an English estate, rather a small and unexpected forest retreat. Huge evergreen pines had been saved from destruction and brought here to create this inner sanctum, soft green lawn well tended, carpeted the centre. Various flowering plants dotted the landscape, all in stark contrast to the towering gothic structures surrounding it.

I removed my shoes and walked barefoot to join him. Nodding slightly to acknowledge my presence, he began his morning ritual. With graceful movements, working through the flowing forms of the tai chi like exercise.

"L.J" His gruff voice brought me from my trance.

"Sorry"

"Something is troubling you; your energy is all over the place this morning."  
"It was."

Friendship

True friendship is born of trust and instinct first, above all else. Information brought into this must be weighed and measured on face value.

This was how my friendship with Ashley had been. With Magnus, it was this and yet more, what we knew of each other had been given, shared during many long conversations.


	2. Chapter 2

Two...

Her trust in me was not the only reason I was drawn to Magnus, but it was what guided my path to her this day. With a shaking hand I knocked.  
"Come"  
Magnus, seated at her desk looked up as I entered. She knew me well enough by now to know when I was troubled. "L.J is something wrong?"  
Breathing deeply, I leant forward placing the micro card in front of her. "If ever, whenever."

Magnus knew what I meant, picking up the chip she turned over in her fingers. "What is it?"  
"All the information Henry and Will haven't been able to find on me."  
A thousand questions ran across her face, she asked just one. "Why now?"  
"Trust...  
You have given me much more than sanctuary and I'm tired of running Dr. Magnus."  
"What exactly is on this?"  
"A past I thought I could just hide from."


	3. Chapter 3

Three...

Will pinched the bridge of his nose, leaning back from the screen. Having read the files and looked through photos at least three times. He turned to Magnus, disbelief edged his voice. "This thing reads like something the Cabal would have had their claws into. Wanna bet they were the financial backers."  
Magnus sighed deeply "Yes, well we know firsthand that it matches their preferred methods."

Picking up a hard copy of the file marked "L" opening it he read. "Subject L. is the most resistant to the programming; having no family also limits our manipulation of her. Thankfully she is protective of the others, especially the Subject A." He shook his head.

"Will, she has spent all these years running. L.J didn't have to share this with us, please keep that in mind when you go to talk to her." For Magnus; the details of Lara's past revealed in these files, simply filled in some blanks. It didn't change her opinion of the women or how she felt about her.  
Magnus too had her secrets.

"What's interesting is that once we had this information, I was able to run a search using the timeline as a trace point. Nothing links to L.J directly; there are however, odd reports of 'Good Samaritan' acts involving the families of the others."

I was perched on my favourite spot, the window ledge. The door to my room was open, but he knocked politely anyway "Can I come in?"  
"Please, I've been expecting you." Moving to slide down, his raised hand stopped me and he climbed up to join me.  
"Nice view"  
Pointing to the file he had in his hand, I looked him in the eye. "Your instincts told you there was more, I'm sorry Will... I"  
"It's okay, believe it or not I actually understand." He smiled kindly at me, sincerity in his voice.  
"Do you want to tell me about it now?"

So I talked and Will listened. "My childhood was relatively normal growing up. In the beginning, my gift was little more than a party trick. I could stop a child screaming or tell if they were lying, all by touching them. I had a regular happy life and as I grew, so did my abilities.  
Let's just say having a pubescent teen that can influence the people around her to suit her moods, is not easy to live with. But my parents were wonderful.  
So when they were killed in a car accident; my world came crashing down. I bounced in and out of trouble attracting the wrong kind of attention. One day these recruiters came to the university campus and suddenly the military seemed like perfect way out. I was in way too deep to walk away, by the time we realised what was going on." I paused as the memories surfaced.  
"Who was subject A?"  
"Anya. She was young, naive and my first love. To keep her safe I would have... and did kill for her."

Will read from the file. "We made a serious error in judgement with subject L. An accident occurred today resulting in the death of Subject A. Subject L is out control, she has escaped.  
We underestimated how much she learnt, all traces of her and the others have been wiped from our files. The Alpha site has been destroyed.'  
Placing his hand on my shoulder, he closed the file. "L.J we believe the project you dismantled was backed by the Cabal."

He held me as I cried then, and I cried, for loss and freedom. I knew the Cabal had been destroyed after Ashley's death. Finally when I had no more tears to cry and Will's shirt was soaked through, I let go.


	4. Chapter 4

Four...

I slept soundly that night and nights thereafter, settled. Sanctuary for all was definitely not an empty motto. With acceptance of my past, came a new hope. I now had the vast connections of the sanctuary network to one day find out what had become of the rest of the 'subjects'.  
Life resumed as normal. Kate, Henry and the Big Guy had been informed of 'relevant' information from my past, if they treated me differently knowing this. It was perhaps with a little more respect.

It has become habit to walk past Magnus' office on the way to my room, whenever I have the graveyard shift feeds. The light shone from under her door, not surprising she often worked late. Many times we shared tea at this time, both of us preferring the night.  
I knocked and entered, she was leaning over her work. "Good evening Magnus"  
Looking up while I entered, Magnus smiled at the use of my 'proper' manners with her. "Good evening L.J"  
I sauntered over to lean on the edge of her desk. "You know, you work too hard.  
What's so important it couldn't wait til tomorrow?"  
Rolling her shoulders; stretching. She tried to maintain seriousness in her voice "I need to go through the monthly accounts. Sign the employee pay cheques."  
"Ahh! That explains your headache." I moved around the desk "At least let me help ease the tension."  
With her permission I placed my hands on her shoulders, working my way across her back and up her neck. Slowly I began massaging the knots in her muscles, or at least trying too. "This would work a lot better if you put that paper down."  
She put it back on the table feigning innocence, her hand drifting towards another. "Maybe if we moved away from the desk you might not be so distracted."

I went and made myself comfy on the couch; looking at Magnus, patted the seat. "You need to relax."  
With a small tilt of her head and a questioning looking Magnus came over. "Cheeky bugger" Sitting beside me she turned her back towards me, moving her long hair aside.  
Shifting my position to sit higher, I put my hands on her shoulders again. This time I slowed my own breathing, opening my senses. Using gentle pressure where needed, my fingers slowly playing across the muscles. I moved up her neck, feeling her unwind.  
Her breathing changed…

Magnus felt the tension releasing from her back, loosening up she also felt the soft vibrations. She let herself give in. L.J's touch along her neck sent a tingles down her spine. "You're cheating!"

She turned suddenly to me, I could sense her pulse racing, and it matched my own. Our eyes locked; each knowing what the other felt, she leant towards me. My hand still on the back of her neck, I pulled her the rest of the way and kissed her.  
Tentative at first, her response lit a fire within me. I pushed her back so we lay on the sofa; she pulled the t-shirt from my body, and ran her fingers across my skin. Kissing the nape of her neck; biting ever so lightly. I unbuttoned her blouse; caressing her breast, feeling her shiver as I trailed my tongue across her collar bone, working my way downwards.  
Our passion became frantic; I slid my hand across her inner thigh brushing the edges of her silk panties, she arched her back in pleasure.  
Shifting beneath me, she flipped open the button and zipper on my jeans. A moan escaped my lips as her hand slid past the band of my underpants.  
Smiling at her; I revelled in the awareness of our bodies synced in unison. Feeling the rhythm of our pulse rates increasing as release shuddered through us.

Helen shifted beneath me again, making room for me beside her. We lay entangled in each other's arms, slowly returning to reality.

Letting go of me she sat up, the moment passed. "Lara..." I silenced her next words with a gentle touch to her lips. "Helen. You and I both know this would have happened sooner or later, it was something we needed to get out of our system." I kissed her deeply once more, picking up my shirt to leave.

My hand on the door I turned back to her. Adjusting her own clothing, she looked up at me and smiled coyly.  
"You do look relaxed Magnus."


	5. Chapter 5

Five...

The next day was to bring only one change. Woken by a message requesting my presence to attend the morning meeting, I grabbed a quick shower and headed to her office.  
A flashback to last night caught me by surprise as I reached the door, knocking I entered. The others were all here, making me the last to arrive. At least now the blush on my cheeks looked natural, embarrassment.  
"Sorry I'm late Magnus."  
Cool, calm and collected as always Magnus greeted me. "Take a seat L.J we were just discussing the mission list.  
"Will, why don't you fill L.J in on your idea."

I was to be included today. One of the inhabitants had escaped and although Twoface was allowed to roam relatively free within Sanctuary, it was preferred he didn't leave alone. Will explained "Henry and I have checked the security footage. From what I can tell and as strange as it sounds, it appears that Twoface's 'angry' side is holding himself hostage."

Henry brought up the details on the screen "We've tracked him to one of the safe houses on the outskirts of town.  
"It's in the wide open, so there's no way to get close without being seen. That's where you fit in L.J" I wasn't the only one to look at Will.

This past month Magnus and Will had been testing the limits of my abilities. Since my rebirth by the source blood, they had grown and I was now able to reach people without physical contact. The doubt showing on my face, passed across the others.  
Magnus: forever to my rescue."Lara, I know you're ready for this. Show them, reach out to the others." I nodded. "Good, now make me disappear." All but Will blinked as if witnessing a magic trick, as she spoke they realised she was still there. "Now include Kate."  
Kate's imaged wavered, touching her she vanished. Never having held so many minds at once, I pushed to include myself and for a brief moment I knew it had worked.  
Releasing them, I looked from Magnus to Will grinning. "I get it! I finally understand how it works." Turning to Kate, Henry and the Big Guy, I continued. "To make Magnus and Kate vanish; required convincing you all that they simply weren't here. To disappear myself, I had to sync with Kate's frequency so to speak."  
Henry caught on where I was going with this. "The vibrations, not only do they calm us making it easier to suggest what we perceive. They act as a sonic disruption to the senses.  
That means it might work."

"What might work?" Magnus' question brought Henry and I out of our little geek bubble.  
"L.J and I modified one of the sonic stun guns to see if we could use it to amplify her reach; we included a touch sensor to read her vibrations."  
Nodding with enthusiasm; "So far I haven't been able to charge the gun. Now I comprehend my abilities, with a few tweaks I'm sure we can make it work this time."

Details were discussed and a plan was hatched. It all came down to distance; we needed to be able to get close enough to tranquilise Twoface safely. The stunner hand guns didn't have sufficient range, so my role was to cloud our approach.

Henry and I were given one hour to modify and test our stun gun. "There, that should do it! One personalised 'catnapper.'  
"Oh Henry, that's a terrible nickname." I was trying so hard not to laugh.  
The sonic rifle now included two sensor pads, one in the trigger grip and one on the barrel. This allowed me to complete the circuit into my frequency. I gripped the weapon, the blue light flashed activation. Henry watched eagerly, the light changed to green confirming charge. Grinning I aimed "Hey Hank, go long."


	6. Chapter 6

Six...

The adrenaline pulsed through my body to the point I was sure all around could hear. Suggesting the use of my jeep to reach the safe house off road, was supposed to keep me distracted. We had driven as close as we dared, I turned off the engine.  
Magnus passed me some water, her long fingers briefly caressing the back of my hand as she gave me the bottle. The simplicity of this brought me back to calm. "Ready?"  
I nodded at her "Thank you."  
Will and Kate grabbed our gear; we would converge on foot from here, moving cautiously along the sparse tree line to gain as near as possible starting point. Henry and the Big Guy were standing by with the van.

_Alright L.J you can do this... _We were in position, I picked up the catnapper.

Walking into the open to approach the house; he cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted. "Twoface, its Will. I'm here to negotiate." The plan was to create a distraction.  
Twoface came out the front door, the gun pointed at his 'own' head. Will stood still, hands in the air he turned around slowly inviting inspection.

As Two moved into the clear, I held my breath and squeezed the trigger. The weapon gave no direct indication of having been fired, other then returning to a blue light. Watching; the air shimmered around Two, confirming a hit. I lowered the rifle and grabbed Kate; we vanished and ran to the second position. Kate carried her gun ready for any problems; her role was to watch my back while I got the rest of us into range.

Will continued talking as the expression on Two's face changed.

Letting the conversation fade, we approached. Kate tensed as Two stared blankly in our direction, I reached for his mind. _'Calm... it's okay no-one is here but Will. You want to speak to Will, you trust him'_

Squeezing Kate's shoulder, she swapped rounds and signalled Magnus. I didn't need to look for confirmation. I could sense her advancing from the other side, moving into position.

'_tired…'_ Twoface lowered his arm.

Pffft… pffft…  
The tranquiliser darts fired in from both sides, Twoface crumpled to the ground. Will stepped forward to grab the gun.

As Two dropped into unconsciousness, the energy used to hold the illusion bounced back to me. "Yes. What a rush!" All eyes turned to me, they laughed at my enthusiasm.  
Will patted me on the back. "Come on L.J, what's say we let Magnus buy us a drink?"


	7. Chapter 7

Seven...

Magnus came to my room the next night. It was late; the rest of the house was asleep, she knocked and entered. Having not long finished my shift; I lay drifting to sleep, the music from my ipod floating in the background. The soft light from outside played across her silhouette, I watched mesmerised by the sheer beauty as she walked towards my bed. My desire was obvious.

Helen's moment of hesitation dissipated. Sliding the straps from her shoulders, she let the nightgown fall to the floor and stepping out of it, slipped in beside me. No explanation was offered, words were not needed. I don't think I could have spoken if I had tried; my mouth was suddenly dry, skin tingling in anticipation.

Magnus shivered at the memory of her touch upon her skin. Her path took her boldly to L.J's room. It had been too long since someone had touched her like that; she wanted more.  
Surprised to recognise the sounds of Bach, I smiled as just a little more of her mystery was revealed. Knocking I entered, moving to stand beside her bed. Lara wet her lips, her eyes darkening with lust as I bared my body before her, feeding the smouldering fire within me.

Taking my hand she bade me sit up. I gazed longingly at her body, she was... _  
_"Breathe"  
She whispered the command in my ear as her hands moved to my t-shirt, lifting it above my head and tossing it to the floor. I ached to touch her, but the look on her face told me this was very much her show.  
She traced her finger down the side of my jaw, pulling me into a deep kiss. Her other hand working its way up the front of chest, pushed me firmly down on the bed. My name, Lara…. had never sounded as sexy as it did when it was uttered from her lips whilst she made love to me.

There was no urgency to our ardour this time. Many hours later; sated we lay together comfortable in each other's silence.

Magnus left before morning as silently as she had entered.

So began our secret affair. By day I was L.J to her Dr Magnus, at night she was Helen to my Lara. What we shared was never really discussed; merely accepted as something we both needed.

The relationship was as beautiful in its complexity as Helen herself.

It was always my room she came too, always after all was quiet.

I had always considered myself a gifted lover; however with Helen I learnt many a new technique for my unique abilities. She still called it cheating, although it was never a complaint.

Our close friendship dispelled all rumours, everyone knew I was a terrible flirt and totally in awe of Magnus.

I had proven myself after my first mission and with comprehension of my 'gift'; was regularly included on the list now. Kate and I were often partnered together. I was cold to her hot, the 'ask questions now' shoot later. It had been Wills' idea.

Everything was going along smoothly for the first time in a long time.

My life was too perfect, something was about to change...


	8. Chapter 8

Eight...

Sitting bolt upright in bed, cold sweat dripped down my back, my breathing slowly returning to normal. Vague remnants of my dream drifted back to me.

The lights outside flickered. I was on my feet and running down the hall before the alarms sounded. Tapping the elevator button "Come on..." Pushing my way in before it was fully open; I turned to hit the down switch. Magnus and Henry joined me as the doors started to close, checking her gun, she watched as he checked the data on the P.A.D. "What's happening Henry?"  
"There was some kind of power surge to the EM shield."

The lights flickered again as the voltage spiked. Grabbing my head I fell to my knees, the pain was intense. Helen was beside me in seconds, concerned "Lara what is it?"  
I didn't know how to explain what was happening to me, reaching out to touch her face I willed her to feel.  
Magnus fell back against the wall sliding to the floor, tears rolling down her cheeks.  
"Doc?" Henry looked from her to me.

The doors opened. I bolted to my feet, running faster now into the central chamber. Metal arms swung down activating the screens, some part of my mind vaguely aware that I was directing these actions. The pain had eased allowing me to think and my fingers raced across the keyboard of the main computer entering the coded data. "Come on... Shit!" The pain returned.  
Magnus was beside me "HENRY?"  
He tapped the keys "SHE'S TRYING TO REVERSE THE POLARITY OF THE EM SHIELDING." Their voices were raised above the noise of the alarms.  
"DO IT"  
"DOC? I DON'T KNOW WHAT EFFECT THIS WILL HAVE WITH THE POWER SURGES."  
"JUST DO IT AND SHUT THAT BLOODY ALARMA OFF"  
Henry entered the last code, I felt the change.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING... on?" The last word from Will echoed in the sudden silence, as he, Kate and the big guy arrived on the scene.

The lights crackled with the overload this time, some exploding. A brilliant red flash of light filled the middle of the room, static charged the air. All around stepped back, guarded, guns raised.

As the light faded, I stepped towards them.


	9. Chapter 9

Nine...

John Druitt's left hand held Nikola Tesla, his right hand... Ashley Magnus, Tesla's de-vamper still pressed against her chest.

A scream of pure fear and pain tore from Ashley as she materialised. Moving forward I took her head in both hands '_you're ok Ash… relax you're safe'_

"Ashley" Helen snapped out of the shock instantly as they collapsed to the ground, her reactions that of a doctor. She had no time to be a Mother, lover, or for the inundation of questions and emotions trying to overwhelm her.  
She checked their pulse. "They're alive; let's get them to the infirmary. Henry, reset the EM shield. Kate, please see that our 'guests' are made comfortable!" She would deal with John and Nikola later.

Will, Kate and Henry stood outside the isolation ward, staring through the glass, waiting, watching. None could offer any help as Magnus and the Big Guy worked, neither could they leave.

Elsewhere, John paced the floor of the sitting room in a quiet fury, while Nikola helped himself to the wine. Kate had escorted them here; gun still in hand and 'politely' suggested they remain here til Magnus found time to talk with them.

L.J and Ashley lay side by side, twins almost in slumber. The readouts from their individual machines; beeped in unison. Occasionally L.J's heart rate would jump as Ashley stirred, though neither woke.

_As I reached out to Ashley, I felt myself pulled across a void into the chaos and confusion that was her mind. Somewhere in here, a small voice cried out in terror, lost. I found her huddled in the corner of what had been her room in the sanctuary. Ashley's image wavered between child and adult, approaching her I realised that I had adopted the persona of a soft grey cat. She reached out lifting me into her lap..._

Will nudged the others, as Magnus came out the room. She looked up from her notes to find them all staring at her in anticipation.  
"Well?" It was Henry who voiced the query.  
Magnus nodded, smiling even as the tears threatened to flow again. "It's Ashley."

They enveloped her as one, holding her. Their laughter soon turned to questions. "She's in a stable condition; I'm running a full panel blood work up now. We need to determine what drugs are still in her system and what effect Nikola's device has had on her."

"So what happened to L.J" Magnus turned to Kate.  
"I think it was some kind of feedback from Ashley. I won't know more til we can do a full CT scan; and to do that we need to separate them."  
"So what's the problem?"  
"We tried taking Lara from the infirmary. As soon as we moved her, Ashley's vitals started dropping."  
"L.J is her anchor"  
"Sorry Will. What did you say?"  
"L.J is her anchor. That's why their delta wave patterns are the same." He turned from the glass to face Magnus, knowing full well the impact his explanation would have. "Druitt may have dragged Ashley physically back into this world, but he didn't give one moments thought as to the impact it would have on her mind."  
"Dear God"  
"Now L.J is trying to bring her back mentally; ironically it's what the cabal 'project' did to L.J that has trained her for this."


	10. Chapter 10

Ten...

Will placed his hand on her arm to slow her down. "Magnus" She was pissed. "Magnus"  
She stopped walking, their conversation replaying in her head. "Will. I can't lose her..."  
"I know, but killing Druitt and Tesla won't change what's happening."

'_Karma is a harsh task Mistress sometimes; I guess I'll have to trust she has a purpose for me in this gift'_

The memory of L.J's words, washed across her, releasing her fear and slowing her rage. "You're right; there are however still questions to be answered."

John leapt out of the chair as the door opened and Magnus stormed in followed by the rest of her entourage. "Where's Ashley?"  
Forcing her hand to remain at her side; the urge to slap him returned in his presence. "Our daughter is fighting for her sanity no thanks to you."  
"No thanks to me... I brought her back to us Helen"  
"Yes, but at what cost."  
"Are you saying I shouldn't have bothered?"  
"Don't twist my words John." Magnus battled the anger and hurt warring within. "I'm saying; that as usual the pair of you gave little thought to the consequences. If you had come to me first, we could have been prepared. Consequently we could still lose Ashley again, as well as a valued member of my team."

The tension in the room was palpable. Henry spoke up "I still don't get how?"  
"Fair question Mr Foss" Nikola was still casually lounging with wine glass in hand. "John came to me Helen and you know how persuasive he can be.'  
The look she gave him; he should have burst into flames. "Go on"  
"When Johnny came to me babbling about how he had sensed Ashley's presence last time he teleported into the sanctuary. I thought he had finally gone mad. Then he convinced me that it was possible she had been trapped in the shields energy."  
"Will and I ran diagnostics on the EM buffers when Ashley disappeared. They were negative."  
"But that was over two years ago." They looked at him blankly "Ashley wasn't just a super abnormal, she was a super vampire created from pure source blood."  
"So what you're saying is that somehow..."  
"It has taken all this time for the 'vampire' DNA to reconstruct enough of Ashley for her to be detected. Yes" Grinning, Nikola finished her sentence.  
"Henry, if this was possible. Why haven't we encountered it earlier?" Will asked, watching the emotions play across Magnus' semi calm exterior. She would blame herself if the answer was wrong.  
"In theory it is feasible. If the data files were transferred to offline storage after we reset the EM shield, they would have only been transferred back to the mainframe as they became active." Henry looked sheepishly at Will.

Druitt spoke up. "I went to Tesla, knowing if he could use his electro-magnetism to shield us. Then we could pass through the buffers, catching Ashley and forcing her rematerialisation." His moment of glory was short lived.

"It wasn't enough."  
"Excuse me Wolf Boy" Tesla's ego always made him snippy.  
"The magnetic field, it wasn't enough. If L.J hadn't corrected the EM frequency all three of you would be dead."  
"The woman with Ashley; how did she know what was happening?"  
Magnus answered Nikola this time. "The details are not important right now, but Lara shares a bond with Ashley."  
"She's an abnormal?" Druitt glared at them, something in the way Helen had said her name annoyed him.  
"Lara is a telekinetic empath John, and I will remind you to have the decency to thank her for your life when she wakes."


	11. Chapter 11

Eleven...

Waking it took a while to realise I was back in my room, moonlight shone through the window. I could sense her nearby "Helen". She moved from the shadows to my side, sitting on the bed she took my hand. Reaching up to adjust the bio feedback unit attached to my upper arm, I could feel her trembling.  
"How long have I been out?"  
"Three days, I was running out of ideas when your bio unit alert went off." Helen paused to smile gently at Lara. "You scared the hell out of me."  
"Where's Ashley?'  
"She is still unconscious in the infirmary. Your core body temperature became unstable, when we couldn't stop it from rising, you went into cardiac arrest. I had to take a chance move you to your room to separate your pattern from hers."  
"I'm sorry. I couldn't leave her."  
"What happened to you, to Ashley?" Helen asked wanting to know, yet dreading the answer.  
"Ash was scared; the sudden re-integration was too much for her to comprehend. The shock sent her mind into overload, so she latched onto the one thing that was familiar. It was strange, like being inside another person's dream. When she calmed down I was able to talk her, explain what had happened. "  
"How much does she remember?"  
I knew the real question on her lips, unsaid. "She had no awareness of the time lost Helen, her last memory was of you."

She stood up to leave "I should go back to Ashley. Her Father is with her at the moment, I need to be there when she wakes." _Not that I want to be anywhere near John right now  
_I held onto her hand, closing my eyes for a moment I reached gently out once more for Ashley's mind. "Ash will sleep until morning her mind is healing now."  
Helen hesitated. "Stay, please Helen, just an hour you need to rest."  
I couldn't use my gift to persuade Magnus; our bond seemed to act as immunity against it. But it was still calming for her, so I let the soft vibrations run across her skin, "Please."  
Helen let herself be pulled down into Lara's warm embrace. She kissed her slowly, knowing everything would change tomorrow. "Thank you"  
Cradled in her arms, I felt safe. She was asleep within minutes, I lay listening to her breathe as I drifted back to sleep myself.


End file.
